The Meeting (or Have a Nice Day, Mr. Hockney) 1983

Peter Blake made this painting, The Meeting, also known as Have a Nice Day, Mr. Hockney, at an unknown date. It's figurative, with lots of people and colors, but it also has these flattened areas that make you think about how paint sits on a surface. It is so smooth! I can imagine Blake, standing back, squinting, trying to capture the light just so on a figure's face or the way the pink sky meets the blue, I can relate to that. Look how the figures are distributed across the frame. Is this everyday life? Is this something staged? What do you think Blake was thinking when he made it? Painters are constantly in conversation, riffing off each other. I imagine Peter Blake looking at David Hockney and thinking, "I can do that, but I'll do it my way.” It’s about an ongoing conversation of ideas through time. Painting is a constant exchange! It embraces not knowing, and allows for multiple readings.